precocious
Use Precocious in a sentence
ʃəs adjective
1.
unusually advanced or mature in development, especially mental development: a precocious child.
2.
prematurely developed, as the mind, faculties, etc.
3.
of or pertaining to premature development.
4.
Botany.
a.
flowering, fruiting, or ripening early, as plants or fruit.
b.
bearing blossoms before leaves, as plants.
c.
appearing before leaves, as flowers.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To precocious
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Precocious
is a TOEFL word you need to know.
So is pacify. Does it mean:
| to bring or restore to a state of peace or tranquility, or to reduce to a state of submission |
| one of the compositions of a composer, usually numbered according to the order of publication |
Collins
World English Dictionary
precocious (prɪˈkəʊʃəs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | ahead in development, such as the mental development of a child |
| 2. | botany (of plants, fruit, etc) flowering or ripening early |
| [C17: from Latin praecox early maturing, from prae early + coquere to ripen] | |
| pre'cociously | |
| —adv | |
| pre'cociousness | |
| —n | |
| precocity | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
| Main Entry: | precocious1 |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | pertaining to uncharacteristically early development, esp. in maturity |
| Etymology: | Latin prae- + coquere 'to cook' |
| Main Entry: | precocious2 |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | appearing early, as flowers; early in development |
| Etymology: | Latin prae- + coquere 'to cook' |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
precocious
1650, "developed before the usual time," from L. præcox (gen. præcocis) "maturing early," from præ- "before" + coquere "to ripen," lit. "to cook" (see cook (n.)). Originally of flowers or fruits. Fig. use, of persons, dates from 1678.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
precocious pre·co·cious (prĭ-kō'shəs)
adj.
Showing unusually early development or maturity.
pre·coc'ity (-kŏs'ĭ-tē) or pre·co'cious·ness n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| precocious (prĭ-kō'shəs) Pronunciation Key
Relating to or having flowers that blossom before the leaves emerge. Some species of magnolias are precocious. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
As a precocious and retiring 4-year-old, the author tells us, she began reading anything she could lay her hands on.
Precocious youngsters with a taste for laboratory notebooks spend years building experiments to compete for college scholarships.
The result is a fast-moving, escapist tale that pinches the dirty cheek of the precocious fifth grader in all of us.
One after another, these precocious invertebrates display what were supposed to be special traits of advanced vertebrates.
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